Chapter 89

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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I overdid my role as an adopted daughter, Chapter 089. Carlo flinched but quickly hid his true feelings and spoke calmly.

"Of course. You can try it on."

Viola took the dress.

Then something strange happened.

'Did the color of the dress change?'

The dress, once touched by Viola, turned light purple.

It was as if the dress had absorbed the color of her hair.

The dress also slightly shrank in size, making the hem a bit shorter.

It felt as comfortable as if it had been custom-made for her.

'Wow. It's incredibly comfortable.'

Most dresses in this world were uncomfortable.

But this dress felt light and comfortable, as if she wasn't wearing anything at all.

She even felt refreshed.

'What is this?'

What was even stranger was that Hera and Carlo looked at Viola without any surprise.

The dress had changed color on its own, not just a little, but completely, yet they showed no reaction.

'Are they pretending to know, or do they really not know?'

It seemed they really didn't know.

She tried to lead the conversation.

"This is the first dress I've seen that matches my eye color. It's quite amazing."

"Eye color... you mean?"

Carlo looked at Viola's eyes again.

They were light purple.

There was an awkward silence.

"Does this dress look light purple to you?"

"Yes."

Viola felt suddenly uneasy.

Somehow, she thought,

'Are they going to think I'm colorblind?'

"Indeed, it looks light purple to you."

While Viola was trying to hide her confusion and compose herself, Hera spoke.

"To me, it looks red."

"To me as well, it looks red. However... this dress is a masterpiece by my master. Some may criticize it for lacking artistic or practical value, but my master would never leave me with anything less than a masterpiece."

Carlo's master.

He was a dwarf who, after teaching the young Carlo many things, returned to the dwarves' forest.

"This dress is said to recognize its owner. I didn't realize it meant this."

Carlo had no choice but to admit.

The owner of this dress is Princess Viola.

Until now, she had only felt sad.

It felt as if she had been stripped of her liver and gallbladder, dealing with the aftermath of the reckless young man's accident.

But now, the situation had changed.

'Fine things shine when worn by those who deserve them.'

Carlo's heart began to race.

It felt as if his master's work had recognized its true owner.

His master would surely be pleased!

"Oh. The color is changing. Now it looks light purple to me too. It seems the dress has found its true owner."

Carlo clapped in joy.

"Indeed, Princess Viola is no ordinary person."

"......"

Viola was at a loss for words.

Although it was a fantastical event in a fantastical world, she still couldn't get used to it.

"Princess Viola, who chose this dress at first glance, has a truly remarkable eye."

Carlo continued, genuinely impressed.

"Those with special qualifications can recognize this dress. And those with special qualifications are... "

Carlo paused for a moment.

He organized his thoughts.

"Born with the destiny of a ruler."

Viola wanted to say,

'What a lousy master!'

'What kind of ridiculous prophecy is this?'

'I just thought it looked like Heidi's dress!'

'That dress can block most swords and spears!'

Hera added more.

"Dwarves are the most skilled in art, but they are also known for their expertise in prophecy and astrology. Is that correct, Chief Designer?"

In a world where magical engineering has advanced so much, talking about prophecy and astrology is absurd!

Is this even a serious question?

"Yes. My master was famous among dwarves for his exceptional skills in astrology."

Viola was at a loss for words.

She had only mentioned that the dress color changed, but suddenly she became a 'girl born with the destiny of a ruler.'

She felt like crying a little.

Viola hid her desire to cry and smiled calmly.

"I like it. I'll take this one."

She didn't like it at all.

***

Viola's party stayed in the VIP room as guests of Louis Barton.

Viola asked,

"It seems we've bought everything we need. Why are we still here?"

"High society is another kind of war, and you are a general preparing for battle."

Bellarut was an outsider in high society.

So they decided to start with this approach.

"You are being treated as a VIP of Louis Barton. Soon, Prince Serphon will come to apologize to us, and we will naturally not forgive him immediately."

From the outside, no one would know the real reason.

To others, it would look like Prince Serphon was making frequent visits to the VIP room to build a friendship.

"VIP of the prestigious Louis Barton family. A VIP visited daily by a direct descendant. How about that? Isn't it already the best topic of conversation?"

Hera's pursuit of excellence in everything was evident.

"Everything starts with a good beginning, don't you think?"

Another cold sweat trickled down Viola's back.

'How much do they know?'

She realized again how difficult it would have been if they had become enemies.

As Hera predicted, rumors about Viola Bellarut began to spread across the continent.

The topic was the hottest.

A few days later,

Viola's party decided to leave the Bara Viscountcy.

Chief Designer Carlo seemed reluctant to let them go.

"Are you leaving already?"

They were almost done with their farewells.

But Viola decided to ask the question she had been holding back.

"Chief Designer, I have one question."

"Anything."

"About the blue uniforms worn by the people of Louis Barton."

While staying in the VIP room, Viola had encountered many people from Louis Barton.

Most of them wore blue uniforms with the Louis Barton emblem.

The blue uniform Prince Serphon wore when they first met was similar in design.

"I heard they are blessed and protected by the spirits. Is that true?"

"Yes. It's still a prototype, but that's the direction we're heading."

Louis Barton was collaborating with spirit mages to infuse all their products with spirit power.

"Why?"

Until now, they had only considered the connection between artifacts and magical engineering, but in the distant future, the integration of spirit studies would be more advantageous than magical engineering.

Carlo was about to answer,

'Because spirit studies are more efficient, can be mass-produced at the same price, and don't consume mana, making them more durable.'

However, Viola spoke first.

"Are you thinking that the connection with spirit studies is better than with magical engineering? Because it's more efficient, can be mass-produced at the same price, and doesn't consume mana, making it more durable?"

Magical engineering was the major discipline in this world, while spirit studies were a minor one.

Magical engineering, based on magic, was deeply involved in daily life, and the mages had established their own community, the Mage Tower, to solidify their power.

In contrast, spirit mages were extremely rare, and almost no one could properly handle spirit power.

There was no large-scale organization like the Mage Tower for spirit mages.

This was also true in the later parts of the novel.

'Ah! I remember!'

Viola could recall the content buried deep in her memory from the novel.

'There was definitely a part where Louis Barton stumbled.'

Details about Louis Barton began to resurface.

Additional explanations she hadn't remembered while reading the novel.

'They were deceived by the great con artist, Herton.'

Herton was an excellent orator and a bold con artist who visited influential families to swindle them.

Many prestigious families were deceived by Herton, and some even went bankrupt.

'They were also said to have been ruined by Herton, who killed their son and took his own life, right?'

It wasn't a detailed part of the novel.

It was a simple additional explanation in a few lines of dialogue between minor characters.

'Wow, I remembered this? Am I a genius?'

Viola chuckled.

"Did I mention that I have a contract with a water spirit of the Kel castle?"

"A, ah, no. I didn't hear that."

"I have a very high affinity for spirits."

"R, really?"

"To me, the blue uniform doesn't feel blessed by any spirit. It just smells like something pretending to be a spirit."

Carlo was momentarily speechless.

"I think someone has tampered with it artificially."

It was a difficult answer to give.

He couldn't say he would immediately investigate it.

That would damage Louis Barton's reputation.

'But I can't outright deny Princess Viola's words either.'

It was hard to give any answer.

Viola calmly continued,

"I understand your position, Chief Designer Carlo. It's okay if you don't answer."

"...Thank you."

"Just listen to what I have to say."

Hera looked at Viola with a pleased expression.

'You're telling me to just listen, aren't you?'

But even Carlo, who was supposed to listen, didn't seem to fully realize it.

Instead, he expressed his gratitude to Viola.

'The timing is perfect.'

This was Viola's strength.

Using the situation and timing to achieve the best results.

'Indeed, my sister.'

Her eyes narrowed.

'She's worthy of being the ruler of Bellarut.'

Viola, unintentionally, began to do a great favor for Louis Barton.